


a universe without stars

by izukare



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:27:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29059746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izukare/pseuds/izukare
Summary: Izumi Tachibana fled from her home planet out of cowardice, she believes. She feels as if she's all alone, like the entire universe is after her.Little does she know that fate brings people together in the strangest of ways, and she is not exempt from such a thing... It's only a matter of time before her turn arrives, where her life will rest in not just her own hands, but two others.There are three worlds, three wandering souls, and three unique tales — how will each of their stories intertwine?
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	a universe without stars

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by: fling posse - stella

If a spaceship crashed without a living soul to witness it, did it ever really crash or even make a sound?

The pilot inside would find out soon enough.

She’d just awoken from her slumber with little to no idea of where she was, and it seemed she was already off to a very rough start. The ship was nearly out of fuel, its navigation was heading straight for the planet ahead, and frankly, this whole ordeal would most likely result in the death of the spaceship and herself.

The inevitable crash and burn of the aircraft convinced her even moreso. To her surprise, however, everything remained mostly intact, save for the underside of the spacecraft. Inside was the unfortunate pilot, uninjured and slowly recovering from the sudden impact of the ship's bumpy landing. Shaky hands unfastened the seatbelt, before grasping onto the steering mechanism to try and stabilize herself before her first attempt at standing up. Fortunately, it proved successful.

Well, this was great. Without much to go off of, it would be impossible for her to get anywhere without knowledge of the surrounding area. There was no light to be seen on the outside; the only source of light being the faint glow of the crystals littering the surface of the planet. While nothing about this sight posed as familiar, one thing did come to mind, and it was painfully simple: winter.

Before her very eyes flashed a vision of a wintry month, where snow coated the ground in copious amounts. Young and old people alike frolicked on the streets in childish wonder, while happiness, although scarce, shone through the gloom that settled upon such a nation. It was a single fragment of the memories she held of her home planet — one that was less tragic than the others.

Eyes looked down to the name scrawled on the palm of her hand, and she took a few moments to jog her memory before wiping away the ink on the rough fabric of her hooded robe. It would be a name that she would have to carry with her for years and years to come, if not her entire life.

The name in question? Izumi Tachibana. A runaway heir to the throne of Veludo, a formerly war-torn planet where the only survivors were those who pledged allegiance to the King, and the King himself. Knowing that, she would never be able to live it down as long as she lived. Countless souls could have been saved if she acted a bit sooner…

Just a bit sooner, and maybe she could’ve turned things around for the better.

Her head throbbed with a dull pain and stopped her from thinking any further, and somehow, she found herself yearning to return to whence she came. Was it guilt? Anger? Bloodlust?

She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, with the waves of jumbled emotions and questions flooding her thoughts like a wildfire. To her dismay, it’d only been fifteen minutes at most, and her train of thought wasn’t in tip-top shape. Attempts to quell the raging storm in her head only served to put her in a daze, making her feel as if the ground underneath her was even further than it truly was.

In her dazed state, she began to salvage around the spacecraft, looking for anything else that could prove useful. She was already at a disadvantage, and to make matters worse, there seemed to be no provisions for her to survive off of. So, she chose to focus on finding other necessities. Clothes, gadgets, _anything_ , at this point.

In the back of her mind, she was fairly irked by how unprepared she was from the lack of preparation, given the absence of food and water. They were vital things any living creature would need, _especially_ for a long journey, and she had neither of those on hand.

Hopefully, just hopefully, she would acquire them soon.

After gathering as much as she could fit in that small knapsack of hers, Izumi decided it was time to explore the area. Staying inside the ship wouldn’t do much good in the long run, since she needed sustenance, and fast. The last item she gathered was her longsword, its blade covered with the scabbard attached to a belt. She hastily fastened the belt around her waist and went to the hatch of the spacecraft.

After tinkering around with a few buttons, she got the hatch to open, revealing to Izumi the vast world before her. A gust of cold air gave her quite the warm welcome, accompanied by a clearer view of the surrounding area. There was no other light source but the dim glow of the crystals, and there seemed to be no life around. Off to a great start, it would seem.

Survival wasn’t something she had a keen sense of, and the surrounding area looked to be quite inhabitable. The bitter groan that left her lips echoed faintly around the mostly empty interior of the ship as she took in the barren landscape, littered with formations of translucent crystals; all of them glowing in different colors.

Oh, if only those things were edible. There’d be less things to worry about, and food certainly wasn’t something she wanted to focus on right now.

Warily, she stepped out of the ship with the knapsack hanging over her shoulders. A glance to either side gave her the reassurance she needed to take the first step into unknown territory. The gentle crunch of rocks under the soles of her boots, along with the gentle breeze, were the only noises she could hear as she stepped further and further away from the beaten-up spacecraft.

She turned around to observe the damage, which was just as bad as she imagined. Crystals scratched and pierced the bottom, rendering it useless. A one-way trip was what she wanted at first, and a one-way trip was exactly what she received.

“Well, I guess you have to be careful with what you wish for,” the runaway sighed, adjusting the mask covering her face.

One last glance over the exterior was the last bit of attention she gave the spacecraft before turning away to view the new world in front of her. Izumi let out a small huff of air when she proceeded to venture forward with relatively quiet strides.

Little did she notice the presence of another, observing from a distance with a watchful gaze.

* * *

Izumi felt that the presence of a path (which happened to be nicely paved, mind you) was a bit odd. Smooth stones paved the way to an unknown location, and whether or not she would find help was still a bleak mystery. Her wavering curiosity still got the best of her, to where she crouched down to observe the stones on the path.

They shone just as the crystals did, with a dim glow, leading her to the conclusion that the smooth stones embedded into the path beneath her feet were nothing more than crystals which were nearly whittled down to the same level as the ground.

If that was the case, then would that not indicate the presence of another individual? A group of individuals, perhaps? Whatever the case might’ve been, this was a sign that Izumi was waiting to find.

She stood up and looked around, for what could possibly be the fifth or sixth time. Along the way, the atmosphere began to feel a bit tense, and it led her to wonder if she wasn’t alone after all. The area was quiet — _too_ quiet, for her liking — to the level where anything could easily be heard. The rustling of fabric, the shuffling of feet, and… who knows, maybe the sound of a pin drop.

Of course, that was an exaggeration on her end.

From her observations, there was no one in sight earlier, and there didn’t seem to be anyone now—

“...You’re lost.”

Well, she was proven wrong fairly quickly.

Startled, she went on the defensive; her hand flew to the grip of her sword while the other took to the scabbard. Before she could panic any further, the gentle touch of a hand upon her shoulder drew her from her defensive state, and she turned around to meet gazes with the stranger before her.

Just as she did, the stranger wore garments to mask his identity, such as their mask and cloak — while the stark creepiness of this situation gave her some degree of discomfort, the latter didn’t act in a way that caused her to feel threatened. On the contrary; the manner in which they remained silent, allowing her a few minutes to relieve herself of her anxieties, was something which required the utmost patience.

Having lacked some of that herself, Izumi allowed herself some level of respect for them. She relaxed her grip on the sword and withdrew from her defensive stance, straightening her posture to greet the other in a less awkward manner… As if this confrontation wasn’t already awkward enough.

Hopefully, she thought to herself, her choices wouldn't betray her in the long run.

“I guess I am,” Izumi chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. “And you?”

Before she could think twice, the words slipped from her mouth. If she could reverse time to make herself sound even a little less stupid, she would gladly take the opportunity without batting an eye. Unfortunately for her, that wouldn’t be a possibility.

“I know the way around here,” the stranger replied, with light exhaustion weighing his words down. “It doesn’t seem like you do, though.”

At this point, the air between them grew a bit too tense for Izumi’s liking, and the whole scenario now felt like a stare-off instead of an actual conversation. She chose to say nothing for a few dreadful moments, all before clearing her throat to try and pick up where they awkwardly left off.

“Anyways…! Is there anywhere I can take shelter? An inn, bunker, anything of the sort-”

“You won’t find any of those, even after walking for a few hours,” the stranger interrupted, yawning as he turned to walk away from Izumi. But then, he waved a hand around in a lazy fashion, inviting her to follow along. “The closest thing you’ll get is a tent. _My_ tent.”

“For a stranger you’ve just met, that’s pretty generous.” Izumi furrowed her eyes in confusion, but followed suit. “What if I was a thief? Or a murderer?”

“If you were either of those, I would’ve already gotten rid of you.”

“I… I see.”

Izumi stopped in her tracks. Did she hear that correctly? Briefly, she considered asking for him to clarify, but held back in the end. Some things are better left unsaid, it seems. As for the latter, he gave a quick glance back at the woman when she paused, a less exhausted look in his eyes. At the sound of hastening footsteps, he grunted lightly, silently trudging upon the path which would lead the two to their destination, it seemed.

Except, the trip along the path was cut short when the stranger makes an unwarranted turn, his body stealthily weaving through the formations of crystals. Izumi hesitantly followed the man, although her clumsiness made her look much less elegant than the one leading her forward. The questions she so desperately wanted to ask remained trapped in her throat, leaving her to her own thoughts.

“Are we almost there?” she grunted, slight irritation in her voice. “This seems like a tedious way to get to a tent.”

“Yeah.”

The stranger said nothing more, continuing to maneuver around the tight spaces, and what seemed like an eternity was put to a quick end soon enough. Slipping between the last of the crystals, Izumi looked up to see a tall structure in the distance, and it looked to be made of pure crystal. Before she could get the chance to take in its full glory, however, a hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her to the left.

“It's this way,” the stranger mumbled. He didn’t spare a single glance in the tower’s direction, making Izumi more curious about its presence. It made sense, though… He was probably more focused on getting the two of them back to his tent, which was starting to come into view.

“What’s that?” she asked, still looking at the tall structure while trailing behind. “It’s quite the attention grabber.”

“I dunno.”

A short, dry answer to end the conversation was what came out of the stranger’s mouth, and that was when she realized something.

“Oh! I never asked; what's your name?” Izumi walked a bit faster to keep up with the strides of the one guiding her, whilst ignoring the dull pain building up in her calves. “I don’t want to keep on addressing you in random ways, that’d be rude…”

“Hisoka,” was the man’s reply. As they approached the normal-sized tent, the pace of his footsteps slowed down to a complete stop in front of it. He turned his head to look at Izumi, his green eyes staring into her own, hazel ones. “You?”

Opening her mouth to speak, Izumi thought twice about what her answer was going to be. She was on a different planet, yes, but the risk of being found out was still there. Regardless of where she was, she could never be too careful — being caught was the last thing she wanted to happen right then and there.

“Um… Fleur! My name’s Fleur,” Izumi sputtered, trying her best not to look _too_ suspicious. Although, by her poor-quality acting, she knew the lie would be obvious. The worst-case scenario would be her getting kicked out of this stranger’s tent, but…

“Okay,” Hisoka replied, holding one of the tent’s flaps open for Izumi to enter. “Get in.”

“Wait. Now that I’m thinking about it again, wouldn’t you want something in return…” The offer sounded tempting, but… there had to be something he wanted in return. Seeing the stone-cold look on the man’s face was enough of a reason for her to enter the tent, regardless of whatever possibilities there might’ve been.

“Mm… Yeah. Things don’t work here like they do in the King’s palace,” Hisoka sighed, crawling into the tent shortly after. “Everything comes with a price.”

“You have a point- Wait. Wait a minute.” Izumi looked at Hisoka with wide eyes, heart pounding in panic as she slowly picked up on what he was insinuating. “How…?”

“Sleep first, questions later,” the tired man mumbled, grabbing a bag with what seemed to carry ingredients. He didn’t give Izumi the chance to protest, instead falling fast asleep in the comfort of his own makeshift sleeping bag.

Izumi had a feeling that trying to leave would be a bad idea, since she didn’t know her way around the area and would end up getting herself lost again. Well, she would have to play the waiting game for the next few hours. She’d get her answers soon enough, though.

Oh, if only there was something to help her pass the time.


End file.
